Local Potlucks are Eco Friendly!

The act of simply sharing your meal has been a favorite form of conserving energy, reducing waste and thereby lessening the environmental impact for as long as man has walked the Earth. Dating back to the time of hunting and gathering, communities found the long day's work culminating around a shared meal where the fruits of their labor were enjoyed by all, nothing was wasted, and the energy put in was returned with the energy from the meal. It was a beautiful cycle, and in today's world of over-consumption, over-production, and fast-food culture, it is a cycle that is not used enough.

We obviously no longer live in the time of hunting and gathering, unless you fall into that group of people who spend their weekends hunting mushrooms and gathering wild fruits like Michael Pollan describes in his book Omnivore's Dilemma, but otherwise we now mainly live in a world where the energy put into our food exceeds the energy it provides, the disconnect between where our food comes from and how it is produced is so large that it is not even thought of when we sit down to eat, and we often eat alone and on the run, thereby not really appreciating our food. Not to mention the waste that is produced and the environmental impacts of the corporate food industry and the individual consumption lifestyle we have become accustomed to.

Well the wonderful world of local, hippie potlucks changes all of that. If most ingredients are local, then you know exactly where your food came from. If dishes were made by a friend or neighbor, then you know where the meal was produced. If meals are shared among your community of friends and neighbors, then the energy put in is conserved and the energy put out is spread among the group.

Local potlucks not only conserve on energy, kind of luck carpooling does, but it brings people together around a locally grown, healthy meal, and nothing beats a meal with friends! Start a weekly potluck today and enjoy meals from a variety of cultures, grown in neighbors' gardens or local farms, and trade cooking tips and recipes too. You could even give a purpose to your potluck, like discussing environmentalism or trading composting tips.

Best of all enjoy the company of your community and break bread together for the celebration of local food and the energy it provides us.